Scientific article
OA Policy
English

Longitudinal associations between self-reported attachment dimensions and neurostructural development from adolescence to early adulthood

Published inAttachment & human development, vol. 25, no. 1, p. 162-180
Publication date2023-02
First online date2021-11-03
Abstract

The existing literature suggests that individual differences in attachment may be associated with differential trajectories of structural brain development. In addition to maturation during infancy and childhood, developmental trajectories are characteristic of adolescence, a period marked by increasingly complex interpersonal relationships and significant neurostructural and functional plasticity. It remains to be examined whether attachment prospectively relates to neurostructural developmental trajectories during adolescence. In this longitudinal study, we investigated whether self-reported attachment dimensions of anxiety (AX) and avoidance (AV) could predict elements of cortical thickness (CT) and subcortical volume (SV) trajectories in 95 typically developing adolescents (12-19 years old at study baseline). Self-reported scores of AX and AV were obtained at study baseline, and neurostructural development was assessed at baseline and three timepoints over the four following years. Self-reported AX and AV were associated with steeper CT decreases in prefrontal cortical and cortical midline structures as well as anterior temporal cortex, particularly in participants younger at study baseline. Regarding SV, preliminary differential associations were observed between developmental trajectories and attachment dimensions. Our study suggests that interindividual differences in attachment contribute to shaping neurodevelopmental trajectories for several cortical and subcortical structures during adolescence and young adulthood.

Keywords
  • Humans
  • Adolescent
  • Young Adult
  • Adult
  • Child
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Self Report
  • Object Attachment
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
Citation (ISO format)
PUHLMANN, Lara Mc et al. Longitudinal associations between self-reported attachment dimensions and neurostructural development from adolescence to early adulthood. In: Attachment & human development, 2023, vol. 25, n° 1, p. 162–180. doi: 10.1080/14616734.2021.1993628
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ISSN of the journal1461-6734
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